This week, we have one of our busiest news recaps yet! We’re amplifying some of the biggest and most interesting game industry news stories, hand-picked from across the world of games, including: news of an NVIDIA event coming up at CES 2021, a recap of a Southeast Asian esports event that just took place, more fallout for CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 after a messy launch, big business news for both Electronic Arts and Skillz, and much more!
Index:
- NVIDIA Plans CES 2021 Event
- Microsoft and Sony Address Unhappy Cyberpunk 2077 Gamers
- Recap: SuperGamerFest 2020
- EA Succeeds in Bid to Acquire Codemasters
- Skillz Launches IPO
- The Charitable Power of Twitch Streamers
- State of Accessibility for the Color Blind in Video Games
- VIP Tour of Super Nintendo World
NVIDIA Plans CES 2021 Event
Source: HEXUS
NVIDIA is in the midst of a sales boom of their RTX 3-series powerhouse GPUs. No doubt wanting to keep the momentum going, the Santa Clara, California-based company is using the upcoming CES 2021 consumer technology showcase to discuss what’s on the way in terms of graphics and gaming. Linked above, HEXUS covers the story:
“Nvidia has announced that it has a “special broadcast event” planned for CES 2021 next month. Scheduled for 12th January at 9am PST (5pm the same day in the UK), the event is called ‘GeForce RTX: Game On’, and a strapline explains that Nvidia will be unveiling “the latest innovations in gaming and graphics”. Jeff Fisher, GeForce Senior Vice President, will be the presenter.”
SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store and want a refund. Please visit the following link to initiate the refund: https://t.co/DEZlC0LmUG.
— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) December 18, 2020
It’s safe to say CD Projekt Red has had a rough several days after the launch of its futuristic action role-playing game, Cyberpunk 2077. Perhaps nothing sums it up as much as Sony and Microsoft taking action after many gamer complaints about issues with the respective console versions of the game. Check out CNET’s story linked above for the latest details.
Events for and about the games industry and gamers are still taking place online going into December, with one of the most recent taking place online for Southeast Asia, which Variety recaps in this story:
“A virtual awards presentation ceremony honoring digital creators from the fast-growing gaming sector in Southeast Asia and a live streamed eSports championship concluded the inaugural edition of SuperGamerFest 2020. The event completed the second and final leg of its first edition over the weekend.
A new addition to this year’s Singapore Media Festival, the event featured the newly established SuperGamerFest’s awards section honored Akosi Dogie from the Philippines as the SEA Content Creator of the Year.”
EA Succeeds in Bid to Acquire Codemasters
Source: The Drive
The tug of war for racing game-focused developer, Codemasters, between Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts, has been resolved. The Drive breaks down this news:
“Early last month, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive reached an agreement with racing game developer Codemasters to buy out the company for $1 billion, and in doing so, acquire its bestselling racing game franchises. But it would seem Codemasters didn’t sign on the line, as on Monday morning, Electronic Arts announced that it instead will buy out the developer, outbidding Take-Two with an offer of $1.2 billion.”
Skillz Launches IPO
Source: Bloomberg
Skillz is officially the first mobile esports company to be publicly traded, as of last week. Skillz, which focuses on offering prizes and points for gaming, currently entertains a user base of 2.7 million monthly active users. With the growing esports market, it’s likely there’s some user and revenue growth potential for the San Francisco, California-based company. For more details, check out the Bloomberg story.
The Charitable Power of Twitch Streamers
Source: Forbes
Twitch has had another tricky week with its streamers and their audiences, but one shining bit of good news is the power of their streamers to back causes and charities that matter to them. Forbes posted a feature about their collective efforts in raising a lot of money:
“While many nonprofits are pivoting their fundraising focus to peer-to-peer efforts, tens of millions of dollars are being raised by a new generation of joystick philanthropists on Twitch.
Equipped with a custom set of made-for-fundraisers tools from Tiltify and millions of devoted followers, professional gamers like DrLupo, Pestily and Nick28T are emerging from their virtual universes yielding massive dividends for their preferred charities.”
State of Accessibility for the Color Blind in Video Games
Source: VICE
VICE shares this story about where color blindness and accessibility to playing games stands, using the popular game, Among Us, as an example of how developers (sometimes struggling to) make an effort to integrate an effective color blind mode into their games.
VIP Tour of Super Nintendo World
Source: Engadget
This week, Nintendo shared a walk-through of their Super Nintendo World theme park, which is shown in a YouTube video and with interesting contextual details in the Engadget article, both linked above:
“The promise of Super Nintendo World is especially tantalizing in a world where the pandemic is cutting into travel options, but now we’ve had a chance to experience the Universal Studios park without going to Japan or waiting for its doors to open in the spring.
A Nintendo Direct stream on Friday afternoon had Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto lead the way through the park, showing off rides and the Power Up Band wearable that helps make the whole thing a “living video game.”
There aren’t a lot of surprises on the tour, including plans to open similar parks in other countries (two locations are planned for the US) over the next few years, but it’s still worth a watch.”
Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!
